TWA Corporate Headquarters' Building
Encyclopedia
Corporate headquarters
Corporate headquarters is a term used to describe the entity at the top of a corporation to take full responsibility for the overall success of the corporation, ensures Corporate Governance...
of Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines
Trans World Airlines was an American airline that existed from 1925 until it was bought out by and merged with American Airlines in 2001. It was a major domestic airline in the United States and the main U.S.-based competitor of Pan American World Airways on intercontinental routes from 1946...
until 1964, when the airline moved its headquarters to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
; the building is located at 1735 Baltimore Avenue in downtown Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City, Missouri is the largest city in the U.S. state of Missouri and is the anchor city of the Kansas City Metropolitan Area, the second largest metropolitan area in Missouri. It encompasses in parts of Jackson, Clay, Cass, and Platte counties...
.
The selection of Kansas City as the headquarters for TWA, initially via Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport
Transcontinental Air Transport was an airline founded in 1928 by Clement Melville Keys that merged in 1930 with Western Air Express to form what became TWA....
, was said to have been made by Charles Lindbergh
Charles Lindbergh
Charles Augustus Lindbergh was an American aviator, author, inventor, explorer, and social activist.Lindbergh, a 25-year-old U.S...
. The building was designed by architects Raymond E. Bales, Jr. and Morris Schechter and built by the Long Construction Company of Kansas City; site work began in May 1955, and construction was completed on October 31, 1956. The building's exterior was decorated in TWA's signature red and white corporate colors. The three-story L-shaped commercial facility was dominated by aluminum panels and corrugated concrete paneling. It was constructed using the Youtz-Slick construction method, in which steel support beams were first erected and then concrete slabs were poured at ground level and lifted into place by hydraulic jacks; the slabs were then bolted and welded onto the beams, which allowed for a reduction in construction costs and construction time.
By 1964, TWA had become a major international figure in aviation, which prompted a move of the airline's executive offices to New York. The 1735 Baltimore building remained headquarters for TWA's accounting department, ticket office, credit department, and cargo department until 1969; the airline continued to use the building for training its flight attendants until opening the Breech Academy
Breech Academy
Breech Academy was a school operated by Trans World Airlines between 1969 and 1988 to train flight attendants, ticket agents, and even pilots. It was named for TWA executive Ernest R. Breech.-History:...
in nearby suburban Overland Park, Kansas
Overland Park, Kansas
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 149,080 people, 59,703 households, and 39,702 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,627.0 people per square mile . There were 62,586 housing units at an average density of 1,102.9 per square mile...
in 1969.
In 2002, the TWA building was added to the National Register of Historic Places
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...
. It had been vacant for several years, though plans as late as 2003 called for it to be converted to residential condominiums under the name of TWA Lofts LLC. Instead, in early 2005, the Kansas City-based urban development firm The Nicholson Group hired local architectural firm el dorado inc to design and coordinate the restoration. Following the renovation, it was then leased to the Kansas City-based advertising agency Barkley Inc.
Barkley Inc.
Barkley is a Kansas City, Missouri based full service advertising agency best known for their work on Sonic Drive-In Restaurants. Founded in 1964, they currently employ 325 people; 2008 capitalized billings were $485 million...
; the agency moved into the renovated building on November 14, 2006. The general area surrounding the TWA building is known as the Crossroads Arts District
Crossroads Arts District
The Crossroads is a historic neighborhood near Downtown Kansas City, Missouri. It is centered at approximately 19th Street and Baltimore Avenue, directly south of the downtown loop and north of Crown Center. It is the city's main art gallery district and center for the visual arts...
.
TWA Moonliner II
During TWA's heyday, its corporate headquarters building was easily identified by the 32 feet (9.8 m) TWA Moonliner II rocket that stood on the roof's southwest corner. It was modeled after the original 76 feet (23.2 m), one-third scale TWA MoonlinerTWA Moonliner
From 1955 through 1962, the TWA Moonliner was part of the first futuristic exhibit located in Disneyland's Tomorrowland. It was also an early example of modern product placement advertising by TWA's Howard Hughes teaming up with Walt Disney as the Moonliner's sponsor.At tall, it was the tallest...
at Disneyland's Tomorrowland
Tomorrowland
- Tomorrowland 1955–1967 :The first Tomorrowland opened at Disneyland on July 18, 1955, with only several of its planned attractions open, due to budget cuts. The construction of the park was rushed, so Tomorrowland was the last land to be finished. It became something of a corporate showcase,...
attraction; TWA was the Moonliner's corporate sponsor until 1962. Their replica Moonliner II was then removed from the building's roof by the airline's new owners, shortly after Howard Hughes
Howard Hughes
Howard Robard Hughes, Jr. was an American business magnate, investor, aviator, engineer, film producer, director, and philanthropist. He was one of the wealthiest people in the world...
sold his controlling interest in the airline. The iconic rocket was then sold to SpaceCraft, a Kansas City, Missouri travel-trailer company.
When SpaceCraft moved to Concordia, Missouri
Concordia, Missouri
Concordia is a city in Lafayette County, Missouri, United States. The population was 2,360 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Concordia is located at . According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land.-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 2,360...
in 1970, the by then all-white Moonliner II moved with them. It continued to slowly fall into disrepair for another 25 years while sitting at their campground facility, located just south of Interstate 70
Interstate 70
Interstate 70 is an Interstate Highway in the United States that runs from Interstate 15 near Cove Fort, Utah, to a Park and Ride near Baltimore, Maryland. It was the first Interstate Highway project in the United States. I-70 approximately traces the path of U.S. Route 40 east of the Rocky...
between Kansas City and St. Louis. The deteriorated rocket replica was then sold and painstakenly restored, down to its original red and white TWA markings, by its new owner, a longtime Disney collector. TWA's Moonliner II is now on display at Kansas City's National Airline History Museum located at the Charles B. Wheeler Downtown Airport; at this location, the restored rocket stands about five miles (8 km) from its original TWA roof-top location.
The historic restoration of the TWA headquarters building, as designed and coordinated by Kansas City based architectural firm el dorado inc, led to the fabrication of a brand new Moonliner II replica begun in March 2006 by the Kansas City office of the Bratton Corporation. The completed replica was installed on September 29 of that year at the same southwest corner roof location as the original.